Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Banda v. Ermita
Banda v. Ermita
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* EN BANC.
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the total membership of the class; and (c) any other factor bearing
on the ability of the named party to speak for the rest of the class.
Previously, we held in Ibañes v. Roman Catholic Church, that
where the interests of the plaintiffs and the other members of the
class they seek to represent are diametrically opposed, the class
suit will not prosper.
Constitutional Law; Presidency; Administrative Agencies;
Reorganizations; The President has the power to reorganize the
offices and agencies in the executive department in line with the
President’s constitutionally granted power of control over executive
offices and by virtue of previous delegation of the legislative power
to reorganize executive offices under existing statutes.—It is a well
settled principle in jurisprudence that the President has the
power to reorganize the offices and agencies in the executive
department in line with the President’s constitutionally granted
power of control over executive offices and by virtue of previous
delegation of the legislative power to reorganize executive offices
under existing statutes. In Buklod ng Kawaning EIIB v. Zamora,
360 SCRA 718 (2001), the Court pointed out that Executive Order
No. 292 or the Administrative Code of 1987 gives the President
continuing authority to reorganize and redefine the functions of
the Office of the President. Section 31, Chapter 10, Title III, Book
III of the said Code.
Same; Same; Same; Same; National Printing Office (NPO);
The National Printing Office, as an agency that is part of the
Office of the Press Secretary, is part of the Office of the President.
—It is undisputed that the NPO, as an agency that is part of the
Office of the Press Secretary (which in various times has been an
agency directly attached to the Office of the Press Secretary or as
an agency under the Philippine Information Agency), is part of
the Office of the President.
Same; Same; Same; Same; Same; Pursuant to Section 20, of
the Administrative Code of 1987, the power of the President to
reorganize the Executive Branch under Section 31 includes such
powers and functions that may be provided for under other laws.—
Section 20, Chapter 7, Title I, Book III of the same Code
significantly provides: “Sec. 20. Residual Powers.—Unless
Congress provides otherwise, the President shall exercise such
other powers and functions vested in the President which
are provided for under the laws and
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493
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497
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501
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9 Rollo, p. 29.
10 Id., at pp. 3032.
11 DECLARING NATIONAL POLICY TO IMPLEMENT THE REFORMS MANDATED BY
502
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those under the supervision and control of the President, those under
the administrative supervision of the Office of the President, those
attached to it for policy and program coordination, and those that are not
placed by law or order creating them under any specific department.
505
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506
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507
The contention of petitioner that the two provisions are riders
deserves scant consideration. Well settled is the rule that every
law has in its favor the presumption of constitutionality. Unless
and until a specific provision of the law is declared invalid and
unconstitutional, the same is valid and binding for all intents and
purposes.”17 (Emphases ours)
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508
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509
“In the recent case of Rosa Ligaya C. Domingo, et al. vs. Hon.
Ronaldo D. Zamora, in his capacity as the Executive Secretary, et
al., this Court has had occasion to also delve on the President’s
power to reorganize the Office of the President under Section
31(2) and (3) of Executive Order No. 292 and the power to
reorganize the Office of the President Proper. x x x
xxxx
The first sentence of the law is an express grant to the
President of a continuing authority to reorganize the
administrative structure of the Office of the President. The
succeeding numbered paragraphs are not in the nature of
provisos that unduly limit the aim and scope of the grant
to the President of the power to
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510
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511
Section 17, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution, clearly
states: “[T]he president shall have control of all executive
departments, bureaus and offices.” Section 31, Book III,
Chapter 10 of Executive Order No. 292, also known as the
Administrative Code of 1987 reads:
SEC. 31. Continuing Authority of the President to
Reorganize his Office.—The President, subject to the policy
in the Executive Office and in order to achieve simplicity,
economy and efficiency, shall have continuing authority to
reorganize the administrative structure of the Office of the
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xxxx
Clearly, Executive Order No. 102 is well within the
constitutional power of the President to issue. The President
did not usurp any legislative prerogative in issuing
Executive Order No. 102. It is an exercise of the President’s
constitutional power of control over the executive
department, supported by the provisions of the
Administrative Code, recognized by other statutes, and
consistently affirmed by this Court.”24 (Emphases supplied.)
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513
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27 It is, however, highly debatable whether Executive Order No. 378 is a mere
implementation of the Government Procurement Reform Act, as Justice Carpio
proposes, since there is nothing in the said statute that authorizes modification of
the functions or appropriations of an executive office or agency.
28 G.R. Nos. 81954, 81967, 82023, 83737, 85310, 85335 and 86241, August 8,
1989, 176 SCRA 84, 127.
515
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CARPIO, J.:
I concur in the result that Executive Order No. 378 (EO
378) is a valid Presidential issuance, but not because it
implements Section 31, Chapter 10, Book II of the
Administrative Code of 19871 (Section 31) or that it is
sanctioned by case
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4 Section 22, Chapter 8, Title II, Book III of the Administrative Code of
1987 provides:
Office of the President Proper.—(1) The Office of the President Proper
shall consist of the Private Office, the Executive Office, the Common Staff
Support System, and the Presidential Special Assistants/Advisers System;
(2) The Executive Office refers to the Offices of the Executive
Secretary, Deputy Executive Secretaries and Assistant Executive
Secretaries;
(3) The Common Staff Support System embraces the offices or units
under the general categories of development and management, general
government administration and internal administration; and
519
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“Another legal basis of E.O. No. 132 is Section 20, Book III of
E.O. No. 292 which states:
“Sec. 20. Residual Powers.—Unless Congress provides
otherwise, the President shall exercise such other powers
and functions vested in the President which are provided for
under the laws and which are not specifically enumerated
above or which are not delegated by the President in
accordance with law.” (italics ours)
This provision speaks of such other powers vested in the
President under the law. What law then which gives him the
power to reorganize? It is Presidential Decree No. 1772 which
amended Presidential Decree No. 1416. These decrees expressly
grant the President of the Philippines the continuing authority to
reorganize the national government, which includes the power to
group, consolidate bureaus and agencies, to abolish offices, to
transfer functions, to create and classify functions, services and
activities and to standardize salaries and materials.”10 (Emphasis
supplied)
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Supreme Court to submit to the President the staffing pattern for courts
constituted under that law for issuance of relevant implementing rules. For the
reorganization of the Office of the Court Administrator, Section 7 of Presidential
Decree No. 828, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 842, delegated to the
Supreme Court the power to “create such offices, services, divisions and other
units in the Office of the Court Administrator, as may be necessary.”
522
(a) Group, coordinate, consolidate or integrate
departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, instrumentalities
and functions of the government;
(b) Abolish departments, offices, agencies or functions
which may not be necessary, or create those which are
necessary, for the efficient conduct of government
functions services and activities;
(c) Transfer functions, appropriations, equipment,
properties, records and personnel from one department,
bureau, office, agency or instrumentality to another;
(d) Create, classify, combine, split, and abolish
positions; and
(e) Standardize salaries, materials and equipment.
(Emphasis supplied)
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30 Decision, p. 20.
31 Presidential Proclamation No. 1017 which was partially declared
unconstitutional in David v. Arroyo, G.R. No. 171396, 3 May 2006, 489
SCRA 160.
32 G.R. No. 166052, 29 August 2007, 531 SCRA 583.
33 Department of Agrarian Reform.
34 G.R. No. 133132, 25 January 2000, 323 SCRA 312.
35 Id., at p. 326.
528
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36 Citing De Leon and De Leon, Jr., The Law On Public Officers And
Election Law (1994 ed.), 365 and Dario v. Mison, G.R. No. 81954, 8 August
1989, 176 SCRA 84 (reviewing the constitutionality of Executive Order
No. 127, reorganizing the then Ministry of Finance, issued by President
Corazon C. Aquino in the exercise of her legislative powers under the
Provisional Constitution).
37 This is apparent from the following canonical distinction of the two
doctrines: “In administrative law supervision means overseeing or the
power or authority of an officer to see that subordinate officers perform
their duties. If the latter fail or neglect to fulfill them the former may
take such action or step as prescribed by law to make them perform their
duties. Control, on the other hand, means the power of an officer to alter
or modify or nullify or set aside what a subordinate officer had done
in the performance of his duties and to substitute the judgment of
the former for that of the latter.” (Mondano v. Silvosa, 97 Phil. 143,
147148 [1955]) (Emphasis supplied).
529
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Petition dismissed.
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them all before the court, and because it was brought only
by one party. (Manila International Airport Authority vs.
Rivera Village Lessee Homeowners Association,
Incorporated, 471 SCRA 358 [2005])
In Board of Optometry v. Colet, 260 SCRA 88 (1996), we
held that courts must exercise utmost caution before
allowing a class suit, which is the exception to the
requirement of joinder of all indispensable parties. (Manila
International Airport Authority vs. Rivera Village Lessee
Homeowners Association, Incorporated, id.)
Officials and employees of MWSS who were affected by
its reorganization and qualified to retire under existing
laws such as RA No. 1616 are entitled to claim retirement
benefits, notwithstanding their receipt of benefits under
the Revised Early Retirement Incentive Package (Revised
ERIP) of MWSS, whereas, officials and employees of MWSS
who were not affected by its reorganization but voluntarily
retired, being qualified for retirement, are entitled to
receive the incentive under the Revised ERIP to the extent
of its difference from the retirement benefit under any
existing retirement law such as RA No. 1616. (Laraño vs.
Commission on Audit, 540 SCRA 553 [2007])
——o0o——
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